La cajota tiene DNR a saco, pero por lo menos es consistente y equilibrada en su sonido , no cómo el doble CD de Rhino del 2000. De acuerdo con Chris Malone:
Superman
Box Set Discs 1 and 2 - Total Two Disc Time 146:03
Music by John Williams
Recorded and mixed by Eric Tomlinson at Anvil Studios, Denham, England
Assisted by Alan Snelling
35mm magnetic film recorded by Peter Gray
Like the Man of Steel himself, John Williams' score for Superman really needs no introduction although I will draw attention to a few compositions. Firstly, the "Love Theme from Superman"is a glorious piece that was given full reign of the soundtrack during the film's lengthy end credits.
A magnificent cue from the underscore is "Jonathan's Death" with incredibly emotive orchestration for solo trumpet, chimes, low strings and string harmonics before a powerful statement of the Smallville theme is made at the conclusion. The following cue, "Leaving Home," is equally as potent. It is the power of music affecting emotions and one that bought tears to the eyes of Alan Snelling and Eric Tomlinson whenever they played it. Both engineers concur that it is one of the most moving compositions to come from maestro Williams. 3
The Superman score was recorded over many disparate sessions commencing in the summer of 1978 and concluding in November that year. Director Richard Donner attended Anvil Studios, driving over from Pinewood with various colleagues and friends crammed into a Rolls-Royce Corniche convertible. 4 Christopher Reeve had a passion for music and also attended the sessions where Eric Tomlinson observed him to be a generous and kind-hearted man. The extended post-production period enabled the engineer opportunity to see some of the flying sequences being filmed. 5
Alan Snelling recalled that a newly installed MCI 24-track 2" analog tape machine was running the master session tapes. Separate transfer sessions took place for film and album with all cues mixed down from the 24-track units. The challenge of maintaining aural continuity between the numerous independent sessions was achieved through Tomlinson's consistent studio layout and miking choices coupled with the skill of composer John Williams. 6
The Superman soundtrack has been released at least four times previously. Firstly, as a generous 2LP set through Warner Bros Records in December 1978. The first CD publication, again on Warner Bros in 1989, saw the LP programme represented on one disc save for two tracks. The quality of this issue was somewhat veiled at times and exhibited some issues with imaging however was generally satisfactory for being a straight port of the original album. A rare Japanese issue in 1990 restored the full running time onto one disc.
In February 2000, Rhino issued a 2CD edition produced by Nick Redman and Mike (then Michael) Matessino. This issue presented the full score chronologically and included an introductory note from Christopher Reeve. This edition was sourced from 35mm dubbing elements and further augmented with assorted open reels including the ¼" LP master tapes. Whilst the assembly was near perfect, the sound was somewhat lacking. Mastered by Dan Hersch, the CDs were characterised by brazen peak limiting, a nudge in the midrange frequencies and instances of over-modulation not obvious on earlier releases. 7 Intra-cue changes in tone and stereo field -- a result of the sources appropriated -- were common that, when coupled with the rather fatiguing lack of dynamic range, regrettably made this a CD set that seldom saw my player.
The much anticipated Film Score Monthly Blue Box was released in February 2008 to the delight of Superman and film score fans, who were thrilled that the Man of Steel would fly again to a nestling place on their shelf. But did he straighten up and fly right?
On this occasion, the score was mastered from the original 6-track 35mm magnetic film mix downs spliced by music editor Bob Hathaway in 1978 to conform to his edit plan for each cue. 8The liner notes reveal that the 6-track units were transferred to digital in 2000 as part of Warner Bros restorative efforts for subsequent issuance of the film on DVD. Assembly of this new edition in the digital domain has permitted some of the bumps and more obvious transitions to be smoothed over making many of them undetectable.
The music sounds clean, dynamic and more internally consistent than ever before. Cleanliness, however, is not necessarily desirable because, with analog recording, hiss is conspicuous by its absence inferring that the score has undergone extensive digital noise reduction. Regrettably, some of the aliveness and ambience of the recording has been vacuumed up with the hiss and in its place is a rather sterile and false soundstage.
There is a wide frequency response, noted to reach 20 KHz, but there is a particular over emphasis on the lower registers creating a heavy and woolly sound. Cues including "The Planet Krypton," "The Mugger," "The Truck Convoy" and "Miss Teschmacher Helps" exemplify this characteristic. Significant attenuation, in the order of a massive 7 dB @ 200 Hz shelving, resolves this heaviness however there is a sharp peak, at 100 Hz, that needs its own attenuation by at least 0.5 dB. Not all cues require the same extent of this treatment to the lower cloud. Assorted cues also possess some minor 50 cycle electrical system hum. Generally speaking, and irrespective of bass concerns, the sound quality is rather laid-back and possesses a recessed midrange. A boost of 0.5 dB @ 1 KHz and 0.5 dB @ 3.5 KHz migrates the soundstage further forward and creates a more natural tonality to my ears but it is still not unspoiled.
An application of digital peak range limiting -- seemingly more than expected from Doug Schwartz -- is fairly restrained compared with some other film score CDs and, by and large, dynamic range is well preserved.
Make no mistake: this is the most significant issue of the Superman score. A superior source was obviously used, the balance is acceptable, it was dutifully assembled and the copious notes are marvellous to study. But the lack of breath and aliveness coupled with some bothersome EQ decisions may shade one of Williams' most important scores in a lesser light than it could and should have been.
